Attention seeking behavior
Enjoying the attention of others is socially acceptable in some situations.Burns, Robert B. Essential Psychology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991; ISBN 0-7923-8957-3 In some instances, however, the need for attention can lead to difficulties. The term attention seeking (or drawing attention) is a form of situation managing and generally reserved for such situations where excessive and "inappropriate attention seeking" is seen.Armstrong, K.J. & Drabman, R. (1994) The clinical use of sports skills tutoring with grade school boys referred for school behavioural problems. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 16, 43–48 (p.44). It can be voluntarily or involuntarily. The term is most often used in domestic, theatrical, tactical, marketing, and other situations. It also can be used as a situational decoy. In different pathologies or contexts * Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder * Münchausen by Internet * Münchausen syndrome * Münchausen syndrome by proxy * Personality disorders – A sustained pattern of attention seeking in adults is often associated with, in particular, histrionic personality disorder – but it may instead be associated with narcissistic personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) American Psychiatric Association (2000) The expression drama queen is associated with histrionic behavior. * Self-destructive behavior – It is a common misconception that self-destructive behavior is inherently attention seeking, or at least that attention is a primary motive. While this is undoubtedly true in some cases, normally the motivation runs much deeper than that. Many self-injurers are very self-conscious of their wounds and scars and feel guilty about their behavior leading them to go to great lengths to conceal their behavior from others. * Voluntary false confession Tactical ignoring Tactical ignoring, also known as planned ignoring, is a behavioral management strategy used in response to challenging behavior that seeks to receive attention or to gain a reaction from others. It is a commonly used strategy when the person displaying the attention seeking behavior still feels rewarded by a negative response. See also * Age regression * Acting out * Coping (psychology) * Enactments * Exaggeration * Victim playing References Further reading * Gewirtz, Jacob L Three determinants of attention-seeking in young children (1956) * Gewirtz, Jacob L A factor analysis of some attention-seeking behaviors of young children Child Development (1956) * Harvey, Eric & Mellor, Nigel Helping Parents Deal With Attention Seeking Behaviour (2009) * Leit, Lisa & Jacobvitz, Deborah & Hazen-Swann, Nancy Conversational Narcissism in Marriage: Narcissistic attention seeking behaviors in face-to-face interactions: Implications for marital stability and partner mental health (2008) * Mellor, Nigel Attention Seeking: A Practical Solution for the Classroom (1997) * Mellor, Nigel The Good, the Bad and the Irritating: A Practical Approach for Parents of Children who are Attention Seeking (2000) * Mellor, Nigel Attention Seeking: A Complete Guide for Teachers (2008) * Smith-Martenz, Arden Attention-seeking misbehaviors (1990) External links * Hysteria, Drama Majors and Drama Queens * Attention-seeking personality disorders Category:Acting out Category:Age regression Category:Behavior Category:Childhood Category:Human behavior Category:Habits Category:Psychopathy Category:Social psychology Category:Tactics